Ahmet Salih Yoluç (born 22 August 1985,

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) is a Turkish racing driver. As a bronze-ranked competitor, Yoluç has taken notable accolades in sportscar racing, including the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

LMGTE Am class victory at Le Mans, the Pro-Am title in the

2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup The 2019 GT Series Endurance Cup (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup) was the ninth season of the GT Series Endurance Cup. The season began on 14 April at Monza and ended on 29 September in Barcelona. The ...

, as well as the

2022 European Le Mans Series The 2022 European Le Mans Series was the nineteenth season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's (ACO) European Le Mans Series. The six-event season began at Circuit Paul Ricard on 17 April and finished at Algarve International Circuit on 16 Oct ...

and

2023 Asian Le Mans Series The 2023 Asian Le Mans Series was the eleventh season of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Asian Le Mans Series. It is the fourth 24 Hours of Le Mans-based series created by the ACO, following the American Le Mans Series (since merged with the Rol ...

championships in the LMP2 category.

Early GT career

Yoluç started his racing career in 2015 with

Optimum Motorsport Optimum Motorsport is a British sports car racing team based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire that primarily competes with Ginetta and McLaren GT cars. Optimum also race under the Inception Racing banner with Ferrari. Their record includes champi ...

in the

British GT Championship The British GT Championship is a sports car racing series based predominantly in the United Kingdom. The series was originally created by the British Racing Drivers' Club in 1993 and, for its first two seasons, was known as the National Sports G ...

. Despite two driving standards-related disqualifications in that championship, the Turkish driver was able to taste success in his maiden season, winning the

Dubai 24 Hour The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a sports car and touring car automobile endurance race held annually at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai, UAE. It was inaugurated in 2006. Entrants and participants As with all races in the 24H Series, promoted by Dut ...

race. At the end of 2015, he made a move to what would become his long-term team,

TF Sport TF Sport is an auto racing team founded by Tom Ferrier and headquartered in Slinfold, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It competed in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship with a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, with support from Corv ...

, and competed in the GT3 Le Mans Cup. There, Yoluç and Euan Hankey finished second in the drivers' standings with two victories, though they would win the teams' title. He and Hankey also drove in

International GT Open The International GT Open is a grand tourer-style sports car racing series founded in 2006 by the Spanish GT Sport Organización. It was a spin-off of the now-defunct Spanish GT Championship, but is now a distinct series featuring FIA GT3-spec ...

during the same year, winning two races on their way to sixth place overall. For the 2017 season, Yoluç moved into the LMGTE class of the

European Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

alongside Hankey and

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC () is a British manufacturer of Luxury car, luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Headed from 1947 by David Brown (entrepreneur ...

factory driver

Nicki Thiim Nicki Thiim (born 17 April 1989 in Sønderborg, Denmark) is a Danish professional racing driver, and Aston Martin Racing works driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and also drives for SSR Performance in the Deutsche Tourenwage ...

. The trio fought for the title throughout the year, winning the season opener at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

and taking podiums in five races, though they missed out to JMW Motorsport by merely two points. That year, Yoluç also raced in the Pro-Am class of the

Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...

. Competing in the final three races, Yoluç would help teammates

Jonathan Adam Jonathan Robert "Jonny" Adam (born 4 September 1984 in Lochgelly, Fife) is a British racing driver and a factory driver for Aston Martin Racing. He was the champion of the SEAT Cupra Championship in two of its six seasons – winning in 2007 and ...

and

Ahmad Al Harthy Ahmad Al Harthy (born 31 August 1981 in Muscat, Oman) is an Omani racing driver who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMGT3 Class in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 for BMW M Team WRT alongside nine-time MotoGP Champion Valent ...

to two podium finishes, including second in class at the

24 Hours of Spa The 24 Hours of Spa is an endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by CrowdStrike. History The Spa 24 Hours was conceived by Jules de Their and ...

, which earned them the Pro-Am title. In addition, Yoluç became the first ever Turkish driver to compete in

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

. He finished seventh in class. Yoluç switched to the

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile endurance racing organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The se ...

for its "Super Season", partnering Charlie Eastwood on a full-time basis. Despite a late retirement at

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

, the team performed well, scoring four podiums to end the season in third. In 2019, Yoluç and Eastwood also raced in the

, winning the Pro-Am Cup title after triumphing during the

. During the second half of 2019, the Turkish-Irish pair would join Jonathan Adam in the WEC with TF Sport. During the season held over two years, the trio won the LMGTE Am category at the

2020 24 Hours of Le Mans The 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''88e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour Endurance racing (motorsport), automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and LM GTE, Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars fielded by teams of th ...

and took the runner-up spot in the championship with three further wins.

Prototype career & ranking upgrade

Yoluç switched to prototypes in 2021, racing an

Oreca 07 The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayt ...

in the

LMP2 A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is a type of sports prototype race car used in various races and championships, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series, and Asian Le M ...

class of the

ELMS The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

with the TF Sport-offshoot Racing Team Turkey. Alongside Eastwood and

Harry Tincknell Harry William Tincknell (born 29 October 1991 in Exeter, Devon) is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Aston Martin THOR Team. He won the LMP2 class on his Le Mans 24 Hour race debu ...

, the Turkish driver was able to celebrate a lone victory at Le Castellet, though they would end up fourth in the LMP2 Pro-Am standings after a crash in practice prevented them from taking part in the final round. Yoluç and Eastwood returned with RTT for the 2022 season, this time teaming up with

Jack Aitken Jack Anthony Han-Aitken (Korean language, Korean: 한세용, ''Han Se-yong''; born 23 September 1995) is a British and South Korean racing driver, who competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Action Express Racing, Cadillac Whelen and i ...

. The outfit was dominant in the Pro-Am class, winning four races on their way to the title. Ahead of the main 2023 campaign, Yoluç and Eastwood, who would be going into their sixth year as teammates, drove alongside

Ayhancan Güven Ayhancan Güven (born 2 January 1998) is a Turkish racing driver and a Porsche factory driver. He currently competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. Born in 1998 in Istanbul, Ayhancan Güven was introduced to racing at four years old by h ...

in the

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second s ...

with

DKR Engineering DKR Engineering is a Belgian-owned Luxembourgish racing team and preparation firm, which competed in the FIA GT1 World Championship. The company was founded in 2004 by Kendy Janclaes as a branch of the PSI Experience racing team from Belgium. A ...

. With a win in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

and three further podiums, the trio took the LMP2 title. For their European season in the

, Yoluç and Eastwood were joined by

Louis Delétraz Louis Charles Hubert Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss people, Swiss racing driver currently competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Wayne Taylor Racing, Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing and in the European Le Mans Series for AO Racin ...

, who immediately helped them towards the overall race victory at

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. Another class win in France followed, but issues at

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to south): Huesca, Zaragoza, a ...

and a spin in the first

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

event from Yoluç demoted the lineup to third in class. At

, Yoluç retired during the evening, having hit the

Prema Prema may refer to: Film * ''Prema'' (1952 film), an Indian Telugu-language film * ''Prema'' (1989 film), an Indian Telugu-language film, starring Venkatesh and Revathi * ''Prema'' (2002 film), an Indian Kannada-language film Music * ''Prema'' (a ...

Filip Ugran Filip-Ioan Ugran (born 12 September 2002) is a Romanian race car driver who is competing in the International GT Open with Oregon Team. He previously competed in the 2024 European Le Mans Series with United Autosports and in the 2023 FIA Wor ...

. During the winter, Yoluç and Eastwood took part in AsLMS alongside

Michael Dinan Michael Dinan (born 25 June 1998) is an American racing driver and car collector currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship, abbreviated as WEC, is a world championship for automobile ...

, where the Turkish driver scored two pole positions but only ended up seventh in the teams' standings, before he was upgraded to an FIA silver-ranked competitor ahead of the 2024 season. As that meant that he could no longer compete in the ELMS's Pro-Am class, Yoluç moved into the Gold Cup category of the

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) with the approval of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Born as the FIA GT Series in 2013, it was spon ...

with Eastwood, as well as partaking in several events of the GTD category of the

IMSA SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

with Lone Star Racing. The Sprint Cup campaign lasted for just two events, with the highlight being a class podium at Misano, meanwhile eighth in GTD at

Daytona Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Dayto ...

was the best result of Yoluç's IMSA season.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete European Le Mans Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

Complete Formula Regional Asian Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Official Website

Salih Yoluc at TF Sport

Salih Yoluc at gt3me.com

Salih Yoluc at fiawec.com

Salih Yoluc at total24hours.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoluç, Salih Living people 1985 births Racing drivers from Istanbul Turkish racing drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers British GT Championship drivers International GT Open drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Formula Regional Asian Championship drivers Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Walter Lechner Racing drivers Pinnacle Motorsport drivers United Autosports drivers FIA Motorsport Games drivers Eurasia Motorsport drivers Aston Martin Racing drivers 24H Series drivers Le Mans Cup drivers GT4 European Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers TF Sport drivers AF Corse drivers